The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians announced that the federal government has taken a significant step in advancing the tribe’s plans for a casino in Muskegon County Michigan.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs was expected to publish a final environmental impact statement on the casino’s proposed site. That begins a public comment phase of 30 days, followed by an official decision on the project. The next step would be to take the proposal to the state legislature.
“This is an incredible step forward in our process to build the Muskegon County Casino Project,” said Larry Romanelli, chief or Ogema of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in a press statement.
The federal bureau reviewed four alternatives to the tribe’s full project, but selected the full project to move forward. The other options included a reduced intensity alternative, a non-gaming alternative, a Custer site alternative and finally not moving forward with any development at all.
The tribe has been working on plans for a new casino in Fruitport Township since 2008 at the former Great Lakes Downs horse racing track. The site at the intersection of U.S. 31 and I-96 is more than 60 acres. The casino would include about 69,000 square feet of gaming floor space with 1,700 slot machines and 35 table games, a 220-room hotel, conference and meeting room space, and dining and entertainment options.
According to the tribe, the project would create 1,500 new jobs directly related to the casino. Tribal leaders project another 1,500 jobs would be created in construction and ancillary jobs.
If the project’s environmental phase is approved, it would still require a federal ruling that the project “would be in the best interest of the Tribe and its members and is not detrimental to the surrounding community.”
It would then require state approval followed by a final federal decision to transfer the physical property into “trust” status.
